0:00:12.036,0:00:16.160
[ JEFF KOONS ] People think that i have[br]a large factory that just knocks out work.

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If you want to make public works[br]in different mediums, you have

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to have support.

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I do have a lot of people that[br]work with me, but we make very

0:00:30.800,0:00:35.347
few paintings a year, because it[br]takes a long time to make each one.

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I learned at a very young age

0:00:39.160,0:00:42.720
how to take care of myself, and[br]i've always enjoyed providing.

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So the studio's really an[br]extension of that.

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It's a sense of community.

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From the time i was a child,[br]i was self-reliant.

0:00:56.440,0:01:02.208
I would go door-to-door, sell[br]gift wrapping paper, candies, chocolates,

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and I always enjoyed

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that I never knew who would open[br]that door.

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But it's the same thing that's[br]happening now as an artist today,

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wanting this[br]communication, this interaction.

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It wasn't till I got to art school

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that i really understood[br]how art can connect you through human history

0:01:25.185,0:01:28.133
and the type of[br]reservoir that it could be.

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If I look at all the works

0:01:30.248,0:01:31.800
that i've done over the years,

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i can see that i continue with[br]certain themes.

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I like flowers.[br]I like certain sensual images.

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There's certain things that I[br]like to work with, 'cause it's

0:01:40.600,0:01:46.160
really the same information, how[br]you look at life and spiritual aspects.

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A lot of things continue to come[br]into play.

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Objects are metaphors for[br]people.

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It always turns out to[br]be about others.

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It's not about accepting that[br]object, high-low culture.

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It's about the acceptance of[br]others.

0:02:31.382,0:02:33.695
- You got everything, Chris?[br]- Yeah.

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- I don't know if these will work with the fins.

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- Yeah, these braces weren't there[br]when we flipped it.

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- We'll take 'em out them. [br]- Yeah.

0:02:41.440,0:02:42.632
- Screwdriver.

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[high-pitched whining]

0:02:53.837,0:02:56.125
- We're gonna maybe leave this[br]one in for the time being.

0:02:56.125,0:02:58.272
- Yeah, I wasn't actually gonna take[br]it out.

0:02:58.272,0:02:59.853
I did that one, and I missed it.

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- 'Cause they'll have enough[br]room.[br]- Mhm.

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- Yeah, this one, I'm just[br]gonna leave it.

0:03:31.335,0:03:34.280
- Jeff's images are usually[br]made up of many different sources.

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He'll compose these on the[br]computer and spend a fair amount

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It's our job to reproduce as[br]close as possible to this reference,

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and then we work with[br]him in the painting process.

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We trace the drawing on a larger[br]scale.

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We have to mix color to his[br]liking.

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Everything is done through maps.

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For example, we have a map for the hand.

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We have 141 colors just for the[br]fist on that painting.

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It's always an ongoing process[br]to try to get it as close to the

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reference as possible.

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So, for example, if you[br]looked in here, we have number 21.

0:04:08.760,0:04:12.760
We would have somebody mix[br]actual color that would match

0:04:12.760,0:04:14.903
that specific area on the[br]painting.

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We mix it on the table[br]over there.

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We basically make a swatch.

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Usually three or four people have to look at the color and[br]agree if it matches or not, and

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then we go through and tube these paints

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and have boxes full[br]of all the paints that we need.

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Flesh is a hard one.[br]Jeff's very particular on the flesh,

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so once we find someone[br]that we like that does it the

0:04:39.960,0:04:44.001
way we want, it's very hard to[br]keep 'em around, doing it good.

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We have people that paint[br]inflatables really well.

0:04:47.760,0:04:50.000
People specialize in certain[br]things.

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The way we paint here is very[br]particular.

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It's very smooth.[br]So we have to watch out that

0:04:53.840,0:04:55.160
people aren't painting too[br]thick.

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It's kind of an irreversible[br]thing.

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You can't really fix that.

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But generally speaking, it's three people on a painting at[br]all times, and it's probably six

0:05:03.960,0:05:07.308
to eight months for a painting,[br]sometimes longer.

0:05:09.360,0:05:11.000
Ideas change, techniques change,

0:05:11.000,0:05:13.245
so it's always evolving into[br]different things.

0:05:15.320,0:05:17.560
I've seen Jeff work on some of[br]the paintings years ago.

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I haven't seen him work so much[br]now.

0:05:21.720,0:05:24.720
The painting process i see him[br]working is on the computer.

0:05:24.720,0:05:27.520
He'll keep composing the image[br]until he's happy with it.

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That's primarily where i see[br]most of his time spent.

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But he's more hands-on in coming[br]in daily and giving us guidance

0:05:33.320,0:05:35.000
on what he wants and how to

0:05:35.000,0:05:38.047
execute it to make it look like[br]what he wants it to look like.

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[ JEFF KOONS ] I think the way art comes[br]into the world is through

0:05:47.400,0:05:49.518
a metaphysical process.

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If you try to create art, it's a decorative process.

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You're just wasting time,[br]spinning gears until you get so

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bored with yourself that you[br]just stop the process and say,

0:06:00.360,0:06:02.200
"Okay, what do i really want[br]to do?

0:06:02.200,0:06:05.840
What am i interested in?"[br]and you focus on it, and before

0:06:05.840,0:06:08.434
you know it, you're in that[br]metaphysical place.

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"Bear and Policeman" that's[br]probably one of my kind of darker works,

0:06:16.782,0:06:19.920
I worked with[br]wood because I wanted to work

0:06:19.920,0:06:22.880
with a material that had[br]a spiritual side,

0:06:22.880,0:06:24.200
that's a living material.

0:06:24.200,0:06:27.480
It keeps moving.[br]The church has used it for

0:06:27.480,0:06:31.280
a very kind of spiritual aspect[br]to its nature.

0:06:31.280,0:06:36.560
"Bear and Policeman" is an image[br]of a bear that's really kind of

0:06:36.560,0:06:40.240
outgrown the symbol of[br]authority, and it's larger than

0:06:40.240,0:06:43.440
the bobby, the policeman bobby[br]that's there.

0:06:43.440,0:06:46.335
And it's ready to blow the[br]bobby's whistle.

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There is kind of a sense of[br]sexual humiliation there through

0:06:51.760,0:06:56.040
overpowering the bobby, and that[br]piece, for me, is really

0:06:56.040,0:07:00.440
speaking about that, you know,[br]art should be something really powerful.

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Artists should embrace all the[br]tools of art to communicate as

0:07:05.280,0:07:06.600
strongly as possible,

0:07:06.600,0:07:11.200
as clearly as possible with as[br]much a virile quality.

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But at the same time,[br]there's a morality that comes

0:07:14.800,0:07:18.760
along with that, and that's just[br]the respect of other people,

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that their rights are equal[br]to yours.

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And so, "Bear and Policeman"[br]was always like art having that

0:07:25.200,0:07:28.840
power but being misused and[br]going out of control.

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And it always reminded me, like,[br]of Hitler.

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So i was trying to communicate,

0:07:33.080,0:07:36.040
again, artists should embrace[br]all the powers of art, but

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there's a moral responsibility[br]that comes with it.

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"Ushering in Banality" is also[br]from the "Banality" series.

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It's also made out of wood.

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I always felt that it was[br]a little autobiographical.

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The young boy in the back[br]pushing the pig, I always

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thought of as myself pushing in[br]this belief of really trying to

0:08:02.280,0:08:06.400
make work that would communicate[br]to people that their own

0:08:06.400,0:08:11.680
cultural history to that moment[br]was perfect, absolutely perfect.

0:08:11.680,0:08:15.962
Cultural history, personal[br]history, everything is perfect,

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and that that would give them[br]a foundation to move forward in life.

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You know, art can be something[br]which can really disempower

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people and can make them feel[br]completely inferior—and some

0:08:28.600,0:08:32.280
people can get a sense of power[br]from that—or it can be

0:08:32.280,0:08:35.560
a vehicle which can[br]empower people.

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And i also get a sense of power[br]from empowering.

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There are theatrical aspects[br]taking place in Versailles.

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My artworks want to show[br]themselves.

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The artworks are extroverted.[br]The major salons are about

0:08:52.680,0:08:53.640
public interaction.

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It's for the public to be there.

0:08:58.275,0:09:03.440
I had to position myself in a certain way even to be[br]accepted within that situation

0:09:03.440,0:09:06.880
of Louis XIV, just like any[br]artist of the court would have

0:09:06.880,0:09:10.040
to present themself in a certain[br]way.

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The way I did that, I showed my[br]self-portrait bust, and I put

0:09:14.200,0:09:18.960
the bust on top of a plinth that[br]was designed by Bernini, so it

0:09:18.960,0:09:19.760
was quite high.

0:09:19.760,0:09:22.440
It was probably about 11 feet up[br]in the air.

0:09:22.440,0:09:25.240
And I remember when I made this[br]suggestion, some of the

0:09:25.240,0:09:28.040
assistants at Versailles started[br]to giggle.

0:09:28.040,0:09:29.600
They thought, "How could he do[br]that?

0:09:29.600,0:09:33.200
How could he, you know, put[br]himself on such a position like

0:09:33.200,0:09:35.320
that on a Bernini base?"

0:09:35.320,0:09:39.000
But i realized that that was[br]kind of necessary, and that was

0:09:39.000,0:09:43.160
across from the portrait of[br]Louis XIV by Rigaud, and I think

0:09:43.160,0:09:46.567
it worked, and I think Louis XIV[br]appreciated it.

0:09:49.680,0:09:54.520
When I'm at Versailles, it never[br]really seems to be about excess,

0:09:54.520,0:09:59.120
because it seems to be about[br]detail and enjoying the detail.

0:10:11.760,0:10:15.360
I really enjoyed the lobster[br]hanging—I think it was in the

0:10:15.360,0:10:17.040
Salon de Mars.

0:10:17.040,0:10:20.200
If you look at the lobster, it's[br]a little bit like a performer,

0:10:20.200,0:10:25.840
like an acrobat, kind of broad[br]arms, and the tentacles are like

0:10:25.840,0:10:27.520
a mustache.

0:10:27.520,0:10:31.320
But if you look closely, the[br]graphics on the lobster are like

0:10:31.320,0:10:33.680
somebody being burned at the[br]stake.

0:10:33.680,0:10:36.920
So you also have this sense that[br]if you're in the public eye long

0:10:36.920,0:10:40.166
enough, that's an inevitable[br]fate.

0:10:56.120,0:10:58.569
To be able to have an exhibition at Versailles,

0:10:58.569,0:11:00.604
it's really[br]a special opportunity.

0:11:07.360,0:11:11.320
I spent about five weeks of the[br]summer being in the gardens and

0:11:11.320,0:11:14.809
going through the palace, and then I [br]planted “Split-Rocker."

0:11:15.040,0:11:18.240
There are 90,000 flowers, and I[br]worked with a team of gardeners

0:11:18.240,0:11:19.920
from Versailles.

0:11:19.920,0:11:23.000
And this was the first time that[br]I ever planted a floral piece

0:11:23.000,0:11:24.920
completely mathematically.

0:11:24.920,0:11:27.720
It's based on a pattern of five[br]plants.

0:11:27.720,0:11:31.840
I have different light colors[br]and dark colors and mid colors.

0:11:31.840,0:11:34.680
But it's all done in[br]mathematical patterns,

0:11:34.680,0:11:36.240
and I never did that before.

0:11:36.240,0:11:39.050
I thought that was really[br]appropriate for Versailles.

0:11:39.673,0:11:46.538
[ speaking French ]

0:12:04.592,0:12:09.935
[ speaking French ]

0:12:12.797,0:12:14.200
[ JEFF KOONS ] One of the things that I came

0:12:14.200,0:12:18.760
to realize in this last year--[br]I had several major exhibitions.

0:12:18.760,0:12:22.600
I had a show at Chicago at the[br]Museum of Contemporary Art.

0:12:22.600,0:12:26.120
I had the show on the roof of[br]The Metropolitan in New York,

0:12:26.120,0:12:28.280
exhibition at Versailles,

0:12:28.280,0:12:32.400
and then also at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin.

0:12:32.400,0:12:36.360
I had a chance to see different[br]bodies of work inter-reacting

0:12:36.360,0:12:38.240
with each other.

0:12:38.240,0:12:43.029
The images can change a lot.[br]The reason for making something can change.

0:12:43.029,0:12:45.000
Some things can be more[br]cerebral.

0:12:45.000,0:12:49.240
Other ones can be more physical.[br]But what doesn't change is that

0:12:49.240,0:12:51.160
reason for making them,

0:12:51.160,0:12:56.240
that desire to be in that moment[br]of that time when you want to

0:12:56.240,0:13:00.280
make something, just diving[br]in, that kind of sense of

0:13:00.280,0:13:04.200
abandonment of kind of any doubt[br]and just going for it.

0:13:04.200,0:13:08.760
And that's really what's[br]important to me as the viewer in this case.

0:13:08.760,0:13:11.960
I know that other viewers can[br]look at it, and they can feel

0:13:11.960,0:13:16.640
something, but I hope that the[br]main charge that they're getting

0:13:16.640,0:13:20.160
is that sense of commitment of[br]moving forward on something,

0:13:20.160,0:13:22.419
that commitment of gesture.

0:13:47.153,0:13:51.228
[ ANNOUNCER ] To learn more about [br]Art21: “Art in the Twenty-First Century"

0:13:51.228,0:13:53.228
and its educational resources,

0:13:53.228,0:13:56.358
please visit us online at: [br]PBS.org

0:14:00.301,0:14:05.921
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0:14:06.013,0:14:08.176
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0:14:08.176,0:14:11.260
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0:14:11.260,0:14:15.541
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